OR-7 back in state but still movin'

The wandering lobo known as OR-7 is back in his native Oregon after nearly a year traversing Northern California in search of a new home and a mate.

By Mark Freeman

The wandering lobo known as OR-7 is back in his native Oregon after nearly a year traversing Northern California in search of a new home and a mate.

The GPS-collared gray wolf apparently crossed the California border into western Klamath County sometime Tuesday night, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Originally from Eastern Oregon's Imnaha pack, OR-7 in 2011 became the first documented wolf in Western Oregon in 65 years. Last winter, he toggled between Southern Oregon and Northern California, becoming the Golden State's first documented wolf since 1924.

"This is not a surprise," ODFW wolf program spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy said. "He has come back before.

"We're not predicting what he's going to do next," Dennehy said Wednesday. "He might be back in California now for all we know."

For most of the past year, OR-7 has traveled around northeastern California, most recently in the western Modoc County area, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

On March 6, he suddenly made a beeline north, traveling about 60 air miles and reaching Klamath County, said USFWS biologist John Stephenson in Bend.

"It's very different movement than what he's been doing for a while in California," Stephenson said. "He just decided to bust a move."

No one knows why, or whether he's alone, Stephenson said. However, wolves have been known to abruptly leave an area in winter or early spring, he said.

"Even whole packs will go on a walkabout," Stephenson said.

The GPS transmitter was fitted on OR-7 in February 2011, and its life expectancy is three years, Stephenson said.